STEAMERS DEFEAT RAPIDS 4-3

BOUCTOUCHE – A late third period goal scored by Victor Laliberté, his second of the contest, gave the West Kent Steamers a 4-3 victory Sunday over the Rapids, ending Grand Falls’ streak of at least 1 point gained in the standings at 7 games.

The Steamers’ winning tally came at 18:32 of the final frame on a rebound in front of the crease. Grand Falls’ netminder Adam Lecours was solid in the third period, preventing West Kent of taking the lead on multiple occasions, including a couple of power play opportunities.

The Steamers got on the board early in the first period on Laliberté’s first goal of the game at 2:59.
The Rapids tied the score at 14:08 following a faceoff in Steamers’ territory. After winning the draw, Zackarie Michaud left a pass for captain Jonah Leard who scored on a one-timer, beating goalkeeper Victor Régis.
However, West Kent regained the lead with under 2 minutes remaining in the frame on Natan Grenier’s 4th tally of the season.
The Rapids sent 11 shots on net in the period compared to 10 for the Steamers.

Backed up by great goaltending, the Rapids were the better team for the most part of the middle frame.
It started with Patrick Baxter’s game-tying goal at 33 seconds of play on a wrister from the slot following a three-on-two break. Then at 8:58, Oliver Plante stole the puck from a defender at his own blue line and came rushing into Steamers’ territory, sending a wrist shot to the back of the net to give the visitors a 3-2 lead.
A penalty at the end of the frame became costly to the Rapids as the Steamers tied the score at 19:10 following a scramble in front of the net of Lecours. Noah Larochelle was the recipient of the goal as both teams ended the first forty minutes of play deadlocked at 3-3.

Laliberté’s winning goal came at 18:32 of the third period following a rebound in front of the net.
Shots on goal in the third period was in favor of West Kent, 13 to 9. The game’s final tally was also to the Steamers’ advantage (38 to 35).
The three stars of the game were awarded to: 1- Victor Laliberté (WKS), 2- Noah Larochelle (WKS), 3- Oliver Plante (GFR).

WEEKEND HIGHLIGHTS

With the loss, the Rapids fall to 6-1-1 for a total of 13 points. They are currently tied for 2nd spot in the Eastlink North standings with West Kent. The Chaleur Lightning are atop the division with a record of 7-2-0 for 14 points. The Rapids have, however, played 1 less game than both the Steamers and the Lightning.

A .500 record over the weekend is more than satisfying for the Rapids who will now prepare to play three games in four days, starting Thursday night in Edmundston against the Blizzard. The Rapids will travel to Miramichi on Saturday night for a matchup against the Timberwolves before returning on home ice Sunday afternoon (3pm) against the Yarmouth Mariners.

Some statistics to share:
1) No players on the Rapids are among the top 20 scorers in the league. This should not be taken negatively, however; it only shows the various production from a team that has scored 34 goals in 8 games for an average of 4g per game.
2) The Rapids have allowed only 23 goals for an average of less than 3 goals per game. Only Edmundston (21g) and Miramichi (22g) have done better in that department than the Rapids thus far this season.
3) The Rapids have a total of 174 penalty minutes, which is the most among the Eastlink North division teams. They have allowed 6 power play goals and are 4th in the division in penalty kill efficiency (83.3%).

Patrick Thibault

Scoring
1st
2:59 WKS Victor Laliberté (1) ASST: Noah Larochelle (5), Victor Lanoue (8)

14:08 GFR Reid Calder (1) ASST: Zackarie Michaud (6)

18:22 WKS Natan Grenier (4) ASST: Noah Larochelle (6), Victor Lanoue (9)

2nd
0:33 GFR Patrick Baxter (2) ASST: Oliver Plante (4), Brody Pare (2)

8:58 GFR Oliver Plante (3) ASST: None

19:10 WKS Noah Larochelle (5) ASST: None (PP)

3rd
18:32 WKS Victor Laliberté (2) ASST: Pierre-Marc Minville (5)